Food For Thought: I went to Michael Jackson's Memorial, thank you Sharette for inspiring me to write about this

Decided to add another topic to the blog, "Food For Thought"... TOTALLY inspired from Michael's Memorial I attended yesterday. I was at a Chinese Restaurant with my best friend Kenny when the news broke. I remember sitting there & running the gamut of emotions in a matter of a few minutes not giving each a proper amount of time to feel any of them for too long because I was wrestling with EVERYTHING at the same time! Does that make sense? Anywho...

To me... there are four sides to the Icon. The music, the message the memories & the Man. I mourned the loss of the Man in '93 when the first accusations came out I judged him by what my eyes saw, the stories I have heard & this anger I held in my heart. I myself was molested by a trusted family member that I admired so much, so I have a hard time believing a grown man could share a bed with a child & avoid touching them or exposing themselves to a child in an inappropriate manner. This fueled my rage & my distrust in Men grew, but the music & memories lived on for me.

To hear a MJ song at a club with your friends & you're all having a blast you instinctively remember the exact moment you heard it the first time, where you were, what you wore & who you were with... that is an incredible feat for a human being to accomplish to have such an effect on so many people that they are literally the soundtrack of that person's life & NOT just mine... my Grandmother, my parents, my brother, all of my friends & everyone spanning three generations were a fan. That too is no easy task.

I was invited to the Memorial, literally the day after he died. I resisted... I was angry at how everyone, especially my friends with children were so broken up about his loss. I was angry how the day before he died he was "Whacko Jacko" & the day of he was once again The King of Pop. I was angry that I was duped to believe he was this great Man when I was a child with his charitable dispositon & music that wanted to share the notion of peace, love, acceptance & strength through adversity yet his face was changing constantly in what seemingly became, in my eyes, a person who literally could no longer live in his own skin! I was angry that he could betray a person's trust... I was ANGRY that my trust was betrayed, I was angry that someone took away my childhood & I was ANGRY that all these years later that fact still cripples me. I'm ANGRY that I'm angry... huh "I'm angry?" Wait I'M "angry"...

I didn't realize I was angry until I went to the Memorial. Like I said I wasn't going to go I argued with everyone & even got into some pretty heated debates about the matter, some in public, but at the very last minute I decided to go. My mentor, Simone, used to work at Motown. This is the strongest & most powerful Woman I have ever known & by the grace of God she has taken a liking to me & has put me under her wing. She has been like a Mother to me, I'm not saying that just to say it because it's the nice thing to say & so damn cliche, but she truly has been like a Mother to me. ♥♥♥♥

When my Mother lost her power when my parents divorced I would watch Oprah & imagine my Mother had that strength, but that was imaginary I had to imagine that & pretend my Mother had it. Simone is REAL & the BOMB & loves me & always comes in clutch when I feel at my lowest. Whether it is with the tiniest or the grandest of gestures, a letter, a good talking to, an ear, a ticket to catch a Matinee at a theatre or reading me the riot act when all is said & done & I contemplate on all that has transpired after a Super Simone Session, she gives me my power back!!! I decided to go.

TJ & I on our way to the Staples Center in Brian's car

Honestly I was just going to sit in the nose bleed seats with my friend Chris I had also got a ticket for, who also I have been dying to repay my gratitude for getting me a gig on a Cruise to Mexico at the end of the month. Then I bumped into a very distressed friend of mine at the SLS Hotel where we are all meeting there to get our tickets. His extra ticket was STOLEN & it was for a FAB friend of mine that is a BRILLIANT Artist & so generous by nature, Brian Friedman from X-Factor & So You Think You Can Dance fame. Actually the very first Pilot Episode of Single Serving was shot in his kitchen & I had been DYING to show him my gratitude for a year. His ticket was stolen by none other than the very vile opportunist Omarosa Manigault & he flew in from London for this service.

There was NO way I would have him sit in the nose bleeds! I asked Simone if I could get a ticket for him. After 3 hours waiting to figure out what to do with one single extra ticket she gave it to me. Here I had both the nose bleed & the floor & opted to give Brian the floor seat feeling so happy that he gets to enjoy this the way he deserves to. As we were driving into the lot... Super Simone texted & said she had an extra ticket, come meet her. She took his ticket & gave us 2 tickets & said "now you two can sit together".... HAVE YOU EVER?!?!? We walked the black carpet, took pics & Chris Brown walked right past us. I gave my extra ticket to TJ & he called a friend over to pick them up within minutes, how the hell did I end up with 4 tickets last minute like that for the greatest Memorial service to a musical legend?

Brian & I on the "Black carpet"♥

I sat 6 rows behind the family. I could see EVERYTHING! At first before... Michael was brought in it was all about the cool factor. The row before me was John Mayer & Reverend Al Sharpton sitting together the row before that was Tyler Perry & he walked over to greet John & Al, I was surprised how respectful they were all with one another. Usher, Gladys Knight, Telma Hopkins, John Salley, the ENTIRE Motown family all around me. Behind me was Kobe Bryant... HELLO, he OWNS the Staples Center... how in the hell is he sitting BEHIND me?!?!? Then it was like celebrity whiplash... "Well hello Barbara Walters, I don't feel so bad about missing The View today since you are too... Corey Feldman... why are you dressed like Michael TODAY, what's wrong with you?!?!? OMG is that Willis & Stoney Jackson?!?!? Wait... why in the hell do I remember Stoney Jackson's name?" I have the memory of a damn elephant!

The amount of stars & pseudo-stars sitting behind us was staggering. I sat next to James Ingram & told him how "I don't have the Heart" got me through the 9th grade because I was in love with my best friend who loved me, but not the way I wanted him to... he burst out & sang it in my ear... my eyes welled up. Then Patti Austin sat 2 rows behind me & they busted out an impromptu rendition of "Baby Come To Me", I guess that's how they greet each other & he turns to me & says "that's my musical wife".. Brian & I look at each other "what in the hell are we doing here, how did this happen?"

James Ingram

Dionne Warrick walks by making the rounds to greet old friends & says hello to James turns to Brian & I & introduces herself to us... Oh man I could go on & on with the coolness factor stories but this blog could go on FOREVER if I did. Time to move on to the Service. The brothers wearing one sequined glove bring in the gold casket. The performances start & it wasn't until my musical idol Stevie Wonder sang "They Won't Go When I Go" a song I always imagined playing at my funeral the reality of sadness hit, I shed a tear for the first time for Michael.

Berry Gordy got up & said a beautiful eulogy & images of Michael & his music flashed, once again it was about the "music" & the "memories". He chronicled the milestones & I knew everything he was going to say as he said it because those were my milestones also. Rev. Al Sharpton whom I've always been eh about, his controversial stances on several issues rub me the wrong way he got up & spoke about the "Man". I found it fitting one controversial icon spoke so fervently & earnestly about another... he KILLED IT when he said this:

My memories turned into realizations of how angry, judgmental, removed from family & unforgiving I am this is where I had that "I'm ANGRY?" epiphany I spoke of earlier, it hit me right then & there. I was mortified because hiding in all that anger & negativity was the 4th aspect of this icon... his message. I forgot how charitable he was. I forgot how loving he was. I forgot how the message in his music would propel the masses to reach for a better life. I FORGOT THE MESSAGE!!!! Then the children got on stage & I watched Paris console & hold her little brother like a little mother. I kept turning to Brian, she's SO strong she's SO STRONG! Then... she spoke.

The Family

It felt like I got kicked in both my face & my gut repeatedly. How did I become so hardened? He was also someone's father, the father of 3 beautiful young people. NO WORDS!!!! Even in death his message, the message about his life no matter how great or how tragic it was affected me... *chills* I don't know, I guess I'm rambling, I'm hoping this all makes sense to you as you're reading this but I have to apologize because it's all starting to develop to make sense to me, but I felt compelled to say something today. Thank you ♥Miss Sharette Driver♥ for challenging me & the position I held 48 hours ago. I still believe that something wasn't "kosher" about his relationship with children, but I am NOT a Judge that is between him & God & I am ok with that. I no longer need to be angry about it.

There's ALWAYS a method to one's greatness & madness & I am NO exception... this was an incredible lesson for me about humanity.

I am forever changed.

Jermaine's stirring rendition of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" MJ's favorite song.

The family hugging Usher after his performance

Field Trippin': Top Chef Celebrity Cook-Off

So my bestie Kenny is obsessed with Top Chef. I've seen a few episodes because Padma Lakshmi used to be in my Acting Class in LA. I never really got into it because at the time I was sticking to my Acting guns & was against all things reality, the second season of Flavor of Love changed ALL that... YEAH BOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! I know... TERRIBLE! 

Anywho, the Choi & I haven't been able to hang one by one because he's too busy knocking it out of the park on all his auditions & booking MAD work! I got invited by the VIP rewards program from The Grove to attend the Celebrity battle between last season's contestants Betty & Stefan, knowing Kenny would LOVE this I got us two tix. ♥

He canceled the day of because he had another audition. I then asked my other foodie pal Diana, but Lady Di had to cancel 3 hours before the event because her slave masters at Satan, Beelzebub & Lucifer ESQ made her work on her ONLY day off. 

SO now the mad dash was on, I have over 1300 friends on Facebook so I posted a status update for someone anyone to join me & YES I know or have met them all at some point in my life, not a loser collector like those weird people who don't know you that "follow" you on Twitter... I will NEVER get that site but I LOVE Lys' little anecdotes.... sorry rambling! 

So as the clock was ticking it was on like Donkey Kong to find someone to dine with me, as the time dwindled & no one was able to join me or offered to I felt myself slipping into that lonely place. 

As a foodie & cook I have no problem eating alone, hell it's one of the joys of being single watching diners around you get increasingly more uncomfortable watching me thinking that I was stood up or that I must be one of those psycho hot chicks so that's why I'm "alone"... LOVE that! 

Still no one bit as the time got nearer I suddenly found myself feeling terrible, feeling lonely & started to talk myself out of getting ready & going. I haven't felt that way about dining I don't think EVER, shopping, eating & watching movies I love to do alone. 

Part of it was that I had these grand plans with Kenny & I wanted to do something special for him & the other part is that I am a seemingly confident person & I put out there in front of my Facebook world that I was in need of company. 

I was mortified & literally changed my status every 15 minutes basically freaking out how I had No one to eat with me.... ain't no shame in my game when it comes to guilt trips. It was now 30 minutes before the event. I decided to close the laptop, suck up the tears that were trying to well up, put the dog on & book it over to the Grove. 

When I got there I noticed all the couples & large groups of friends huddled to enjoy their evening under the stars with great wine & food, I had my moment & then let it go. The set-up was beautiful! I found myself just getting more & more excited about the food & nothing else mattered. 

When I said at the table I was alone 1 of the security was gentlemanly enough to escort me in, I felt FAB!♥That was so darling of him. I remember looking around & there was this woman flailing her arms in the air for someone to come over, I smiled at her & kept walking, as I passed her she grabbed my arm & she's like "HEY didn't you hear me? We have room for one more" I was shocked, no one in LA talks to strangers or one another so I told her that I genuinely thought she was speaking to someone behind me. 

The blossoming Foodie♥

We got to talking & hit it off immediately, I introduced myself to everyone at this fantastic table but I was just enthralled by this woman & wanted to know everything about her & thank her profusely. We couldn't stop yapping & the abundance of wine flowing did have a hand in that, I swear 20 minutes into our conversation I introduced myself & gave her my name & then she told me hers. 

Her name was Olga, my Grandmother's name... my ♥Grandmother♥ that died 2 years ago... literally 4 days before I met Olga was the 2 year anniversary of my Beloved Grandmother's passing, I just started balling right then & there, it was a sign this was the company I was to have that evening & honestly the best company a girl could ever ask for. 

Although the setting was samples from the more popular restaurants at The Grove, the sampling of the Duo Of Wagyu from The Whisper Lounge nearly knocked me out it was so good, I remember thinking & then exclaiming to the table I don't care how much that steak costs I am going to the Whisper Lounge & having an entire one to myself it was so buttery & delicious sweet Jeezus, 10 seconds after I said that the MC asks who wants to come up & grab a plate? 

The wine made me leap out of my seat & he picked me... I felt like I was on The Price Is Right... again, well that's another story, anywho one of the winners got there before & took my treasured grilled Wagyu when he offered her the Tartare.... 

I wanted to kick her in the back of the head, but as I got up there there was an entire grilled Wagyu on the cutting board & I asked if he can give that to me also, the crowd ROARED it was awesome so he did. I walk back to my jubilant table & decided it would taste so much better if we shared it. ♥

One of the guests was on a date with her foodie lover & I literally watched this girl become a foodie before my very eyes, it was awesome! Olga ran to get us some forks & the 6 of us grubbed it was an incredible feeling.

The sampling, Wagyu Tartare, Grilled Wagyu & Carrot cake... YUM!♥♥♥

Our winning plate♥
Tuna from Morel's

Chicken Tortellini from Maggiano's

Then the battle between Betty & Stefan began, I swear by this time I was a bottle & a half into this dinner... we were trashed! I was heckling & talking all dirty to Stefan, he LOVED it & gave me a pair of panties that said cockychef... fierce & I was cheering for Betty like a schoolgirl, she ended up giving me her dish also! 

My table loved me even more than ever it was fantastic, my dear Olga.... feeling very nice wandered onto the stage & told Stefan all the stuff wrong he was doing & helping herself to the Judge's plates, I went to last year's winner Ilan's table & he invited me to come to his new restaurant Grobel's that opens in Downtown in August HA!

I even went to the Whisper Lounge after to congratulate the Chef that made the amazing Wagyu. I ended up knowing the bartender, we went to acting class together so he gave me a free drink, when he asked what I was doing there? I told him I had to met the Chef that kicked ass today, he told me "he's alright, not that big of a deal" 

I answered are you KIDDING me... I start going off on him & he laughs, I look down & there's the chef.... whoah! He brought me more tartare, I ordered the best bacon & brie burger EVER & they prepared my favorite grilled Wagyu with lobster mashed potatoes & truffle mac n cheese. ♥♥♥♥

It was a wrap & hands down the best foodie experience ever & I can't thank my Grandmother enough for making it happen for me. I felt blessed & the realization of the best friends, experiences & satisfaction always happen when food & wine are involved. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Olga telling Stefan "what's up"... HA

Can't wait to cook for someone wearing just these!

The Champ Ilan is here!
Betty's dish
Betty
The fountain at the Grove

The Whisper Lounge boys

I'm OBSESSED with this burger

Wagyu with lobster mash & truffle mac

Cooked: Pistachio Crusted Tilapia with Angel Hair Pasta & Herbs

If there is a great advantage to being a Single chick is that your time is your own baby... work! A lot of my time is spent with my friends, friends that aren't that big into cooking or are recently inspired. I love the challenge when I'm over & they complain they have nothing to eat. I open the cupboards, freezer & fridge & voila a home cooked meal in 30 minutes! Fierce. 

The shock never gets old I ♥ it, but what I ♥ even more than impromptu entertaining is the fact I predominately get to use ingredients I wouldn't normally buy. I can't tell you how much money I have saved over the years by testing out recipes using ingredients & spices I have literally discovered at a friend's home, free test kitchens... cha-ching. 

This is such a great culinary secret of mine & I can't express enough how cool it is. My Philly girl Andrea is dating my best friend Kenny, who is Korean, loves food & is a sucker for home cooked Korean meals. Andrea prior to dating him was grilled cheese sandwiches, fettucine alfredo from a box & pizza delivery (she's still a size 3/4!!! grrrrrrrrr, I must cut her!) 

When she fell in ♥ she really stepped up her culinary game, she even has a VAT of Kimchee in the fridge... awesome. So now she has all these cool spices & always has chicken & fish in the freezer. She went off to school & let me hang at her house to catch up on all the Food Network show's I missed, damn you Bush for making me cut off my cable! I got to finally check out 5 Ingredient Fix with Claire Robinson. 

I like her, she's super approachable, her food is simple yet flirty, she looks healthy & not emaciated like the skinny chefs & her personality is fun & fresh & not frighteningly loud or big to cover the fact the heavier chefs are, well heavy! Ooh & I ♥ that her set has a real fridge. 

So, I wanted to say thank you to Andrea & seriously... I wanted to raid all those cool spices I decided to make Ange dinner to come home to after school.

I'm a crunch girl, but I didn't want to fry anything. She had a bag of these super cool salt & pepper seasoned Pistachios. Honestly I've only had Pistachios in Baklava or as a garnish to a dessert so when I thought about breading some fish with it I swear I thought I was brilliant! She had Salmon, Tilapia & Chicken breast in the freezer. 

I decided to go with the really delicate & juicy Tilapia I wanted the flavors of the Pistachios & spices to pop. I added lime juice, soy sauce, butter, garlic, sesame oil, oregano & Korean vinegared red pepper paste. I didn't need any salt & pepper because the Pistachios were already beautifully seasoned with them, the black pepper was really spicy I loved that! 

She didn't have a food processor so I got to chopping, thank God the bag was from Costco because I ate so many as I chopped them. For the pasta I used some white American cheese she had (the only cheese that was available) butter, oregano & lemon zest... YUM! 16 minutes later dinner was ready. 

I almost did a back flip it was so good & now is in my repertoire. I really thought I invented this, couldn't believe I have never had this before. I try to come up with a name for it. I always google potential names because I don't want to have the same name of a dish as another cook.

Lo & behold on my search I find that I just reinvented the wheel... bummer. I'm not the first to rock the Pistachios with fish BUT mine was the only one with a Korean feel, I feel good about that. Now to come up with a name... "the pressure of coming up with a name" QUICK what movie is that from?

I decided to pass on the Lemon Pepper seasoning after I crushed the peppery pistachios & swapped for garlic instead